Westmount wants to suspend work of the Turcot interchange

Antoine Lacroix

Thursday, February 8, 2018 23:01

UPDATE
Thursday, February 8, 2018 23:01

Look at this article

The City of Westmount would be that the superior Court of Quebec ordered the suspension of the work around the road 136 of the Turcot interchange for the department of Transportation to remedy the problem of “excessive noise”.

“One may regret that the line of the road 136 (formerly highway 720), which is currently under construction will lead to noise levels downright unacceptable, and even out of standards. It is the quality of life of our citizens is threatened,” said Benoit Hurtubise, director general of the City of Westmount.

In the superior Court of Quebec on February 12th, the municipality will argue that the construction of the road by the ministry of Transport (MTQ) “will lead to a flagrant violation of the Law on the quality of the environment”. The projects are expected to last for three days, according to the DG.

Solution

“The soundscape to exceed, once the road 136 is completed, the 65 decibels consistently at several places on the territory of Westmount, up to reach more than 70 decibels at some locations,” claims a press release sent by the City.

“What we said is that we want the work to be stopped until the MTQ solves the noise problem and brings a solution for this to be acceptable,” said Dr. Hurtubise.

The City of Westmount, recall that, according to the own publications of the MTQ indicates that noise levels exceeding 55 decibels can hinder and disturb the quality of life of those who live near the place from which radiates the noise. A climate of sound that exceeds 65 decibels can, however, lead to a strong disturbance, difficulties with sleep, blood pressure, increased fatigue, feelings of depression, decreased performance, and a degradation in the quality and understanding of the conversation

Realigned

The director general of Westmount, laments that the City had not been notified by the MTQ that the route would be changed.

“Initially, the road was supposed to be much lower, which would have helped to ensure that the noise would be much less important. But they never said that it was going to be at this height,” says Benoit Hurtubise.